1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to document transporting devices in general and more particularly to a document transporting device employing opposing intermittent motion imparting devices such as are generally described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,921, to L. F. Knappe, entitled "Document Feed Device", which is herein incorporated by reference.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Document transport devices including separator mechanisms to prevent multiple sheet feeds, normally are of the type in which rollers are utilized to transport the documents or sheets to a picker separator station. Again, at the picker separator station rollers rotating in opposing directions are utilized to feed the sheet on the top of a stack of paper while restraining the other sheets beneath the top sheet. While these devices can be made to work satisfactorily they suffer from the fact that since the rollers are in continuous contact they are susceptible to both wear, which allows multiple sheet feeding or a malfunction of the sheet feeding itself, coupled with a film buildup which results in unreliable feeding. In the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,921, there is described in the basic intermediate motion imparting device. In the description of this patent, however, only one method of operation was described. It was felt, at the time of the filing of the patent, that the intermittent motion or elliptical motion which caused the extremity of the tip to lift on and off of a sheet of paper to provide the intermittent motion was due to the shape of the tip. Subsequent investigation, however, has resulted in a determination that the elliptical motion also can be provided by the spring mounting itself which imparts a rotational motion to the longitudinal motion which results in the elliptical movement. In addition, it has been determined that the non-symmetrical wedge shape of the tip as far as obtaining an elliptical motion is not important and that many different shapes of tips can be utilized.